Two-day old chicks

Tiny eyes are still unopen. Beaks open wide when mom is around. Dad has come to visit too.

Birds have hatched!

Tiny with no feathers, chirping away. It probably hatched sometime today because last night I noticed the female bird was still brooding. Umi and Tsuru are excited too. But cats and birds are kept apart. I hope to video tape the female bird feeding the little chicks.

A simple Delica rose necklace

This is a necklace made up of fresh water pearls in light pink, Swarovski bicones crystals (5mm), a Delica bead rose (1.8mm across) in dusty pink, antique silver-toned metal base filigree, chain and findings. I made this over the weekend as a gift for JK to thank her for all her help. I just met her about a month ago but she is so easy going and just great to deal with. From the jewellery she wears I think she prefers a simple design. I hope she likes it.

Tatted variegated blue and black hummingbird

Instead of just the belly in a different colour, I made the tail in variegated blue too. However I think I much prefer it if the tail was black. It was a nice experiment, just to see how it looked. No beak again. I spent this weekend making three necklaces. I hope it will be worn with love.

Happy Mother's Day

My mom lives 300km away and I just called her to wish her Happy Mother's Day. She told me about her day with her new grand daughter who was born on the 1st of May. She's happy. She has two daughters, two sons, two son-in-laws, one daughter-in-law and four grandchildren. I see her about 3-4 times a year when I travel to visit. I will see her next month.

The lovebirds

This photo shows the olive-backed sunbirds flying in to see the home they made.

This is the female bird brooding. I took this photo at night with a flash.

This was taken in the morning. She lets me move around her while I water the plants. When the female bird is brooding, the nest is about chest level.

Birds have laid eggs

I'm so excited. The olive-backed sunbirds have laid eggs. I think there are two in the nest. The female bird sits in the nest even while I go out to the balcony to water my plants. I think she's use to me pottering about. I move carefully around the nest to water the bamboo. Let's see how long it takes for the chicks to hatch. I will try to take a photo of the female in the nest.

Pink flapper girl egg doll giveaway

Tsuru loves doing this. I throw down the pieces of paper with names and she quickly picks one with her paw. The pink flapper girl egg doll is going to Dolls123. Do send me your details. Thank you to Mariam, Lana and Annie for taking part. Thank you for visiting and come back often for more giveaways.

Bird nest is done

The bird's nest was ready two weeks ago but I just got it photographed. Hopefully I will get to see eggs from the birds soon. I think it took the birds about 1.5 weeks to build it. I thought it was really hard work for the birds since about the same amount of material used to build the nest also landed on the balcony floor.

Gateway at Beach Road

These are one of my favourite buildings just because of how it looks from Sheares Bridge. Gateway to Singapore from the sea lanes. Unfortunately I could not get a photo from there as this was taken from the other side along North Bridge Road. According to Wikipedia, it is trapezoidal and 37 storeys: Gateway East and Gateway West. The architect is I. M. Pei and it was completed in 1990. I was also looking online for an image from Sheares Bridge but I could not find one. How unfortunate. I should try to take one. The other famous building along Beach Road is the Raffles Hotel.

My tatted black bunny

This is my black bunny. If you have not seen the rest its here. I have not been doing much tatting nor have I tried out the blissful block kit which Pat sent me. I am so behind in my crafts and jewellery making. I probably have to start again soon. I did not finish the beak of the hummingbird either. Honestly, I really do not know how to tat the beak based on the pattern. I was thinking maybe I should sew in beads or use an embroidery stitch when I use the tatted hummingbird in a project. Any suggestions?

Pink flapper girl egg doll giveaway

This is another 'egg doll' which I made. She is Princess Olivia's flirtacious half sister, Estee. She is made with a cream Thai silk, a tatted egg, a metal rose, pink metallic sequins and glass beads. She is my second giveaway. Just leave a comment before 4 May 2008 and I will do a draw on 5 May 2008.

Tatted green hummingbird

This is my first try at tatting this hummingbird pattern by Sherry Matthews. It is still missing its distinctive long beak which I have yet to make but you can see that it is a bird. I had to do a lot of unpicking because I kept reading the pattern wrong. I finally finished the body, wings and tail. I am going to try tatting it in another colour combination and see how it looks, maybe dark grey and blue.

Khazana at Boat Quay

This looks like a pretty old building. It is at Boat Quay behind the Singapore River. I was there early one morning. There were people just finishing a night of clubbing and having an early breakfast. I thought this building looks interesting. Behind on the right is the former ICA building. Khazana means treasury in Malay. What treasures does it hold? I am not sure, I think it is a restaurant.

Tatted eggs blocked

This is what I do after I finish a piece of tatting. I pin it on a computer mouse pad and wet it with water and let it air dry. You could also spray it with starch but sometimes the starch clumps when it does not drain off properly. I usually use water and when it dries, the shape of the tatting will conform to how you pinned it down.

Blissful block kit from Pat

I received this from Pat last week. It's a kit for crazy quilting (CQ) newbies. The kit comes with an already printed image with coordinating fabrics, silk ribbons, beads, sequins, charms, lace and embroidered ribbons with an instruction sheet. It's all ready for you to start. Do come back and see how I progress with this block. If you would like to try this kit, do visit Pat's Etsy shop here.

My moulin rouge dotee

I received this Moulin Rouge Dotee from Becky last Saturday. I only had a chance to photograph it today. She also sent me a wooden flower doll and fabric squares which I could use in making more dolls? The Moulin Rouge dotee is black and red with a blue and black feather in her head dress. The wooden flower doll is really cute too. Thank you Becky.
I prefer to take photos in natural light but sometimes it is just not possible. I either have to supplement it with a table light or use the flash.

Crested pigeon

This is a crested pigeon. I love how blue it is and how delicate the crest feathers are; constrasting with its red eyes.

We seldom visit local attractions. The last time I visited the zoo was when we were hosting overseas visitors. The last time I visited Sentosa was when I was representing someone attending an opening ceremony for a Seahorse Exhibit. Why do we travel thousands of miles and visit zoos, theme parks and other attractions else where when we have not even seen what we have at home? Well maybe sometimes we just need to be a tourist in our own city.

A few weeks back, two girlfriends and I decided we should do just that. It was a refreshing visit to the Jurong Bird Park. The last time I visited was for a field trip a long time ago. It was a weekday and we were probably the only locals there among tourists from all over the world. We saw the crested pigeon among other things. We sat on a wooden swing overlooking a man-made lake and thought of what we were going to have for lunch. It was a tiring but good day.

Caesar's salad dressing

I have been enjoying my salad this week because I just love this dressing which I got recently. If you do see it on your supermarket shelf, do try it.

Regular visitors

Every day I get two visitors to my balcony garden and they visit several times a day. They have been regular visitors for sometime now, probably years but I am not sure whether it has been the same two birds. They come to feed on one of my plants with tiny red inconspicuous flowers. They seem to love it.

In the past few weeks, I have noticed my balcony floor littered with pieces of bark. They have been busy trying to build a nest on my bamboo plant. I hope the nest building is successful. Umi & Tsuru gets a whole lot of bird watching. I keep the glass doors closed and the bamboo is very close to the glass doors so Umi & Tsuru gets a very good view of the birds. This is what the nest looks like now.

Tatted beige and bronze diamond motif earrings S$36 (US$23)

This diamond motif (35 x 70mm length) is tatted in beige DMC Cebelia 30 cotton thread (#437) with Delica beads in bronze.The tatting is based on Nina's original pattern for a 'Six rings swirl join' (Lace of Beads: Insertions & Book Spines by Nina Libin, Beanile Publications, July 2006).Ear hooks are gold-toned metal base. Approx. length 8.3cm / 3.2inch including ear hook.If you prefer 925 silver ear hooks or the tatted motif in a different colour (depending on what colour threads I have), I can custom one for you.

Moulin rouge dotee

This is my version of the Moulin Rouge dotee doll. It actually looks more like a Spanish dotee. I wasn't sure how to make it more Moulin Rouge. Oh well!! I tried. I really hope that Crystal M will like it. She's made with fuchsia Thai silk, black lace, Delica beads, Czech glass tulips, Swarovski bicone crystals, square sequins, fuchsia faux gem and cotton threads.

Rice with beans

A friend and I lunched at a restaurant which was recommended. We particularly liked the rice with beans. We were so inspired that we went straight to the supermarket and got the ingredients. Brown, red and white rice with black and red beans. I soaked the beans overnight and the brown & red rice for a few hours; cooked it in a rice cooker with chicken stock. It turned out fine but I still prefer the one in the restaurant. What's the secret?

Tatted flower and heart bracelet S$28 (US$18)

Trilobe tatted flowers (17mm across) in mauve, lilac and light brown interspersed with brass-toned hearts (11mm across). Chain and findings including heart-shaped clasp (10mm across) and large heart charm (18mm across) are brass-toned metal base. Bracelet measures 20cm/7.8inches. I can shorten it to fit your wrist. Just let me know.

Gifts from Lana

Thank you Lana for these incredible treasures. I can see the thought and effort you have put in it. I received them today and really enjoyed myself opening them. It came with a card which put a smile on my face. Lana asked whether my tatting was for sale. I told her we could do a swap. I sent her some of my tatting and requested for anything she handmade. I hope she receives my package before the end of this week.

Lana sent me a quilted heart pin, a little yellow bird with such pretty long feet, a fabric butterfly and a lovely handmade doll with a charm that reads "I love cats". Oooohh . . how it made me smile. Thank you so much Lana.

Water plant

I first saw this plant in Bali and loved it. It looks graceful the way the flower hangs. The photo does not show the flowers clearly but it is a precious colour of white and a touch of purple. It is actually an aquatic plant called water canna or Thalia geniculata.

Formula One Car

A yellow formula one car on the top of a bus stop in Orchard Road. I took this photo from across the road with my phone. I'm not a Formula One Race fan but I thought this photo was interesting. One other person was also taking a photo.

Ang Ku Kueh

In my opinion, this is the best ang ku kueh I have tasted. No, I did not make them. I bought them.

You have to eat this fresh and it should not be refrigerated otherwise the skin becomes leathery. Ang Ku Kueh translated literally means red turtle cake. The skin is made of glutinous rice flour with sweet potato and inside is a filling of sweet green bean paste. You also need a mould to make the specific turtle shape and design.

There is a recipe here but as long as I know where to buy them, I will not be making it anytime soon. It is normally served on birthdays and when celebrating a baby's first month.

Belle Armoire

I could not find most of the Stampington & Co magazines here so when a friend was visiting the US, I asked if he could get me any one of their magazines. This is what he brought me. I'm inspired!!
After flipping through it, I want more! Salon, Artdoll, Handcrafted, Somerset Home, Artful Blogging etc.

Beautiful Costus blooms

This is one of my favourite Costus. I don't have one in my balcony garden but I see it planted along the roadside and at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Don't you just love the colour. If I am not mistaken this is Costus curvibracteatus.